Download IB Economics required summer reading 2012

AHS IB Economics SL Summer Reading Assignment 2012-13
As you probably know, this IB Economics SL course is completed in one year rather than the AHS norm of two years. Therefore, you
will have to do some outside reading to facilitate your understanding of economics and for us to meet the hours required for IB. The
summer reading assignment involves two parts: Part 1 involves reading and cutting out/copying six (6) articles over the course of
the summer and making some written comments about those articles. Part 2 involves reading “Naked Economics: Undressing the
Dismal Science” by Wheelan and answering a question set for the book. The current events article portfolio with comments must be
submitted as hard copies. The questions for the book reading can be submitted via school fusion, email, or hard copy. Students new
to AHS and those of you who decided to take this course at the last minute will have until the end of Q1 to submit. If you have preregistered for the class and are on my list, this assignment is due by Sept 4. We will have an introductory quiz over “Naked
Economics” in the first couple weeks of school
You can check out copies of the book at the AHS library (she has a limited supply of about 10 or 12 copies), or you can purchase a
copy to keep as your own. The book answers must be submitted by school fusion drop box, or emailed, or handed in as hard copy.
Please remind yourself about the IB code of conduct which requires you do your own work; do not simply cut and paste answers
from a friend’s version.
If you have questions and/or want to email your work: [email protected]
Part 1: Current events article Portfolio and Commentary (four different articles and commentaries)
Everyone does this.
Between now and the start of school, read a newspaper or business magazine as much as possible, preferably every day.
You can choose from The Aspen Times, the Aspen Daily News, The Denver Post, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Wall Street
Journal, the USA Today, and the New York Times, the USA Today. As you read, you are looking for articles about an economics topic
(these are listed below).
You will need an article for four of the topics given below and you will do a short commentary for each of those four
different articles. Cut out or copy the article, put it in a folder, and on a separate sheet of paper write the following commentary by
answering the following questions. You should write at least 100 but no more than 150 words for each article.
1. What is the topic of the article?
2. What is the economic concept they are talking about?
Not the topic or title of the article, but the economic concept that applies. If you are unable figure this out, it is ok.
Take a guess. Use the list below to help.
3. Why does this seem to be happening?
4. How is this affecting business, our country, society, and/or culture?
5. Formulate and write down a question you think needs to be answered. What is the implied question of the article?
Formulating a question relating to an article is inherent in the internal assessments you will write during the course. For example, lets say
you have read an article in which a politician says that our current budget deficit is un-sustainable and is leading to disaster. There are
several questions you could pose and eventually write about. For example, you could ask “why does stimulus spending lead to disaster?” or
“Why is a budget deficit bad?” or “What percent of GD P is our current budget deficit?” A single question is ok but a good research question,
a good question for an EE or an IA, involves three parts:
Method
Does stimulus spending by the government
Problem Which requires US to borrow more money
Result
Result in inflation and higher interest rates?
For your current events reading, find, read, and comment upon four different news articles. Each will focus upon one of the
following topics:
Unemployment
Inflation
GDP
Recession/ recovering from the recession
Exchange Rate and value of the dollar against the Euro and other currencies such as the Chinese Yuan
Trade Deficit
Taxes
Budget deficit
The government Debt
Banking failures and the economic meltdown from those banking problems
The euro crisis; the economic problems currently happening in the European Union.
Part 2: Everyone does this also. Answer the questions for “Naked Economics” and digital drop your answers via school fusion, or
email to [email protected] or give me a hard copy.
Chapter 1-The Power of Markets
How did Coca cola become the dominant soft drink company in Eastern Europe since 1989?
Paragraph 3 in this chapter mentions Adam Smith and his idea of the “invisible hand.” Explain this concept.
What did the delegation to Cuba find out about Communism and the price of cigars in Cuba?
Explain the difference between cost and price.
The primary objective of a business is to
How do they accomplish this?
On page 15 the author talks about the market price of the doggie in the window and mentions the supply and demand thing. What is he
talking about?
In what way does Gap have control over the price it charges for sweatshirts?
What is price discrimination?
What is a market?
Chapter 2-Incentives Matter
One of the issues we face at AHS involves the lack of parking.
What is the government-imposed incentive structure put in place to manage the problem?
What is a different incentive you might create to solve the same problem?
What are the side effects of the government-imposed incentive?
What are side effects of your own incentive?
How has competition affected your life and in what ways? (p.37)
Are you better or worse off?
What is the Government trying to discourage/encourage through these taxes? (p.39)
Name 5 underground economies created as a result of taxes. (p.39)
Read the following quote:
"We know that people seek to make themselves better off, however they may define that. Our best hope for improving the
human condition is to understand why we act the way we do and then plan accordingly. Programs, organizations, and systems
work better when they get the incentives right." (p.42)
To predict outcomes in economics we need to understand human behavior. What are someof the "laws" of human
behavior (like self-interest) that might help us understand the workings of the economy better?
Chapter 3-Government and the Economy
At Delbarton, describe a positive or negative externality. (p.49)
Create an incentive structure to encourage/discourage this behavior that raises/lowers the cost of behavior to better reflect its
true social cost.
On page 56, Mr. Wheelan describes government's institutions that "form the tracks on which capitalism runs."
Name five of these institutions and describe their role in facilitating capitalist rules. In other words, what are five of the benefits
or key factors in our life that are enabled by government.
Chapter 4-Government and the Economy II
If government, through tax initiatives could encourage certain spending in the economy, what kind of spending might they encourage?
(p.75)
Chapter 5-Economics of Information
The market system operates on the assumption of equal access to information. Information asymmetry can be defined in short as a
situation in a market transaction where one side has an advantage in bargaining due to information advantages. (p.85)
Describe or give an example of information asymmetry.
Statement: In a competitive market, there should be no profits. (p.92)
Define competitive markets
How can this competitive situation exist? How can it be there are no profits in a competitive market?
Discuss the difference between economic profit and entrepreneur's/business’ income and profit.
Chapter 6-Productivity and Human Capital
What human capital do you possess? (p.101)
Brainstorm possible investments in human capital.
What is your best investment in your own human capital?
Does our free-market system make poverty inevitable?
Will there always be haves and haves-not?
What fundamental thing separates the Haves from the Haves-not? (p.115)
Chapter 7-Financial markets
Regarding Whelan's discussion of information in markets on page 129, how is it that people actually make money in the stock market?
Chapter 9-Keeping Score
In the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis, the author discusses the various baseball statistics used to evaluate success or failure. His
evaluation of these metrics clearly details their shortcomings.
What is GDP?
What are the components of GDP?
President Obama wants to improve education and raise teacher pay by tying student performance on exams to that teacher’s
pay. Can you create a stat that best evaluates a teacher's/student's/school's quality?